
Young girls in Nima, a slum in north Accra, are receiving coding lessons in this classroom, located above a local mosque.

Tech entrepreneur and mentor Regina Agyare, center, pictured with some of her students in Nima.

The technology entrepreneur and educator first visited local school Achievers Ghana as a guest teacher as part of her initiative "Tech Needs Girls."

The school educates young girls from Nima, a poor neighborhood in Accra. Many have received no formal education before enrolling, and Achievers Ghana has had to work hard with local community leaders to promote the benefits of teaching the girls.

Agyare says that many children in the largely Muslim area grow up without ever leaving the community. Achievers Ghana and Tech Needs Girls is helping to expand their horizons by taking them on trips around Accra and other areas of the country.

Founder of Achievers Ghana Amadu Mohammad gave up a career in banking to set up the school, which now teaches more than 200 children.

In Agyare's coding classes she teaches the girls how to build in HTML, with the hope that one day they can use the skills in their future careers.

Agyare has enlisted high-flying university students to help out in the classroom, acting as mentors and role models for the girls.

A few boys have joined Agyare's classes. She says they have been a revelation, allowing her to challenge gender stereotypes and demonstrate to boys the positive effects of educating girls.


